This week I found myself in a mid-sized school located in one of the best neighborhoods in Queens. The school is relatively new, has plenty of parking, and a nice Administration. However, I must point out, I never met the Chapter Leader at all. To continue, this school has a diverse student body from the surrounding communities and for many years the school climate was more suburban than urban. However, the school is in the process of experiencing a slow moving tsunami as the school desperately neeeds to fill student slots and face a dwindling source of high achieving students who live in the community.
In the last few years the school has reluctantly accepted an increasing number of students outside the nearby communities because they couldn't compete with the powerhouse large comprehensive high schools in Northeast Queens and has steadily lost ground to these schools and others in attracting the high achieving academic students to the school. Therefore, to keep their student numbers up, the school reluctantly started to accept the lower achieving students from South Queens and even Brooklyn. These lower achieving students brought a more urban culture and attitude to the school and it seems have created a schism in the school environment.
The school has tried to maintain their suburban environment but haven't adjusted well to the less disciplined urban culture brought in by an increasing number of students from Southern Queens. For example this school allows the students to wear hats, hoods, and, dare I say, those thuggish paints down to their knees with the underwear showing. Further, study hall does not require a pass in this school and some of the students spend more time in study hall where they socialize and play cards then they do in class. Finally, the students all carry Ipods, and cellphones and many of the students use then in the classroom with no consequences. Interestingly, the school has to some degree has rubbed off on these students, even the most thuggish are relatively respectful and follow orders. Now if the school can get them to go back to class.
This school has deteriorated over the years but is still a good school.
GRADE "B"
OK, so the administration might be nice, but obviously there's no commitment to school tone.
ReplyDeleteIf the following is going on, then watch it skid to a C or D from the city in a year or two.
For example this school allows the students to wear hats, hoods, and, dare I say, those thuggish paints down to their knees with the underwear showing. Further, study hall does not require a pass and some of the students spend more time in study hall where they socialize and play cards then they do in class. Finally, the students all carry Ipods, and cellphones and many of the students use then in the classroom with no consequences. Interestingly, the school has to some degree has rubbed off on these students, even the most thuggish are relatively respectful and follow orders. Now if the school can get them to go back to class.
The way the laws are, the kids can do what they want and we as teachers have zero power. If they want to wear hats, listen to ipods etc, we cannot control that. I've tried only to be the one given the letter. If you raise your voice, it's verbal abuse. If you try to take it and put your hands on the kid, it's corporal punishment. Teaching is not teaching today. Whatever we do, we are wrong, so why put yourself in a position to get admonished and reprimanded?
ReplyDeleteSchool tone is the responsibility of the administration. I have long argued that individual teachers can not enforce rules effectively if it not part of the culture of the school. As a substitute ATR, the phones are always out. When I ask, it does not happen the regular teacher is there. The school I was in this week had the roaming school safety agents with scanners come in on Monday. Hundreds of phones were confiscated, bagged, boxed and returned to students at the end of the day. I see Bloomberg's insistence to not allow electronic devices in school buildings ignored in every school I have been in except for two, which had metal detectors.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Tom, school tone is the total responsibility of administration. They, not teachers, per diem subs, paras and especially us 'bottom of the barrel' ATRs do not set the tone.
ReplyDeleteWhy is this stuff with the confiscation of electronics not happening from day 1 by administration? If it happens once in a blue moon in December, what's the point?
We are told that if a student has an electronic device or cell phone and refuses to put it away, we are to call one of the administrators, deans, or safety agents to take it away. In reality, if you call one of the above, you are generally laughed at or told some variation on "I have too much to deal with right now to drop it all to take away a stupid phone. Take it yourself or call the parent". Never mind that the kids in this school wouldn't think twice about ripping your arm off for the cell phone and many of the boys are bigger and much stronger than me.
ReplyDeleteI ignore the phones, ipods, and basically everything else - there is no way I am getting into a confrontation with a student whom I don't know and whom I will never see again after 5 days - a result of being placed in a school weekly ...I feel absolutely no Responsibility or attachment to any school or any kid - I am not going out of my way for any of it.
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